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Overview

Post Master’s Certificate in Nursing

ASU’s Post Master’s Certificate Program tracks are offered online through Blackboard, a course delivery system, designed for students holding a Master’s Degree with a major in Nursing. On-campus attendance requirements are kept to a minimum and are dependent upon the educational track to which you are accepted. Clinical requirements can usually be completed in the student’s city of residence(within Texas) or at the nearest approved clinical site(s), provided course objectives are met. Preceptors at approved clinical sites are subject to approval per course requirements and expected course objectives.

Students have the option of choosing one of these areas of specialization:

MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) - An online program for baccalaureate nurses designed to develop expertise in the advanced practice role. Graduates are prepared as primary care providers to families and individuals across the lifespan.

MSN – Nurse Educator (NE) - An online program for baccalaureate nurses designed to develop expertise as an advanced level nurse in the teaching role. Graduates are prepared to teach healthcare providers enrolled in a variety of educational programs, including those at the vocational, associate and baccalaureate levels as well as in healthcare environments.

Admission

Post Master’s Certification in Nursing

Admission Requirements

Certificate Program Admission and Progression Requirements

Student must apply and be accepted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research

U. S. citizenship*

Master’s degree in nursing from an accredited nursing program.

Overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale

Meet academic prerequisites**

Advanced Pathophysiology

Advanced Pharmacology

Advanced Health Assessment (AHA). The AHA course must include a minimum of 50 clinical hours of direct patient care. The clinical hours must be “hands on” and be completed in a patient care setting (i.e. family practice, corporate health, rural health clinic…). Clinical hours may not include standardized patients, on campus workshops/educational offerings, or simulation lab scenarios.

NUR 6338 Leadership and Roles and may be taken with the Post Master’s FNP curriculum.

Acceptance of prerequisites will be subject to faculty approval. Potential students may be required to provide course descriptions and syllabi prior to approval.

Current, unencumbered license to practice as a Registered Nurse in Texas. MSN Core Curriculum and Advanced Practice Practicums are required to be completed in Texas.

Three professional reference letters addressing your ability to succeed in graduate school (leadership, time management, initiative).

Personal statement describing your personal and professional goals, commitment to your field of study, nursing experience as well as community service related to healthcare. Graduate study is rigorous. Briefly discuss plans to incorporate graduate study into your schedule (500 word maximum).

Curriculum Vitae (CV) / resume

*In accordance with College of Graduate Studies and Research admission requirements, applicants from a foreign country whom English is not their first language, must also include official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) taken within the last two years.

**Gap Analysis for Post Graduate Certificate NP Students

A student who is a nationally certified NP seeking partial credit or waiver of course work towards completion of a post master’s certificate in another NP practice area must have a thorough analysis completed of previous coursework (NONPF, 2012). The Family Nurse Practitioner Track Coordinator will conduct the analysis and report to the Graduate Program Coordinator. Recommendations to accept course work will be made to the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies for final approval.

Clinical sites may require background checks and drug screens before allowing students to participate in clinical experiences.

The number of openings in the Post Master’s Certificate program track is limited. Graduate Faculty will evaluate each application and admit the most qualified applicants until all positions are filled.

Application Deadlines

Application Deadlines

Degree

Fall Deadline April 1

Spring Deadline October 1

Summer Deadline April 1

Family Nurse Practitioner

X

Nurse Educator

X*

X*

X*

Post Master’s Certificate - FNP

X**

Post Master’s Certificate - NE

X*

X*

X*

*Extended Deadline to November 4, 2016

**Extended Deadline to December 1, 2016

Certificate Plans

Certificate Plans

Graduate certificate programs offered for academic credit require a 3.0 cumulative grade point average with no grade lower than a “B”. All courses must be in residence.

Applicants must be accepted into the College of Graduate Studies and Research, ASU Graduate Application. You will be assigned an Angelo State University ID when you create a College of Graduate Studies and Research Application. Input this ID number into the “Additional Information” section of NursingCAS. Note there is a $40 fee to submit your ASU Graduate Application.

Applicants must complete the NursingCAS application. Visit www.nursingcas.org and click “Apply” to initiate your application. And click on “Create Account” and complete the required fields in order to start your application. NursingCAS is the online, centralized application service for nursing schools. You can use NursingCAS to apply to Angelo State University and other participating schools.

In the “References” section of NursingCAS input the information of three individuals who can provide a professional letter of recommendation on your behalf. This will allow your reference writers to submit a recommendation electronically on your behalf via NursingCAS.

A personal statement/essay describing your goal and plan for completing a graduate nursing degree (500 word maximum) may be typed of copied into the “Personal Statement” section of Nursing CAS.

All official transcripts must be mailed from each issuing institution’s registrar’s office directly to NursingCAS. In order to expedite the processing be sure to include the Transcript Request Form. NursingCAS processes your transcripts on behalf of school. NursingCAS cannot process transcripts stamped with “Issued to Student”. Request transcripts to be sent as soon as possible. Mailing Address: NursingCAS, P.O. Box 9201, Watertown, MA 02471

In the “Designations” section of NursingCAS you will select Angelo State University’s programs to apply to and will be required to submit the NursingCAS fee prior to electronic submission. If ASU is the first graduate level program you are applying to via NursingCAS you will be charged $65 and if it’s an additional program you are applying to via NursingCAS then you will be charged $35.

Prior to their first clinical course, graduate students must have the following on file in the nursing office:

• Current CPR (professional level) certification

• Evidence of meeting state-­mandated immunization requirements

• Proof of current health insurance

* When an applicant’s GPA is below 3.0, but between 2.75 and 2.99, and if the applicant has achieved a 3.0 GPA in the last 60 hours of undergraduate work, the applicant may be granted provisional admission.

Note: All applicants are required to complete the “Coursework” section of NursingCAS. Be sure to have a copy of your transcript(s) in hand in order to complete this section. All college level course work (including in-­progress course work) must be entered into the application in this section. There is a short, instructional video posted here on how to accurately complete this section. And detailed instructions are posted here. This will be the most time-­consuming aspect of the application process.

If you would rather have NursingCAS staff enter in your coursework data on your behalf then you have the option of paying an additional fee to use the Coursework Entry Service. Click here to learn more about the service. The data entered into this section is used to calculate GPAs in order to make admissions decisions. Learn more here.

Application Deadlines

Application Deadlines

Degree

Fall Deadline April 1

Spring Deadline October 1

Summer Deadline April 1

Family Nurse Practitioner

X

Nurse Educator

X*

X*

X*

Post Master’s Certificate - FNP

X**

Post Master’s Certificate - NE

X*

X*

X*

*Extended Deadline to November 4, 2016

**Extended Deadline to December 1, 2016

NursingCAS Tips

To have a more complete application, please include the following information:

Work Experience

Professional Nursing Organization Memberships

Volunteer/Missionary work

Certifications (BLS, ACLS, PALS, CCRN, etc)

Monitor the Status of Your Application:

The “My Messages” section of the NursingCAS application will include any messages that NursingCAS or a school has sent to you. Please check your “My Messages” to see if you have received any vital information about your application. Messages will be sent to the “My Messages” inbox and your personal email address that you created your account with.

Use the “Quick Status Menu” options to check to see your Transcript(s), Reference(s), or Payment(s) have been received after you submit them. To check to see which Designations you have selected (in other words programs you have applied to) by clicking on the Designations option under the Quick Status menu. The GPA Calculations option under the Quick Status menu will display any GPA calculations NursingCAS has generated for you based on the coursework data you entered. Your application has been “verified” once your GPA Calculations are complete. Learn more about “verification”.

Contact Information

For questions regarding the NursingCAS application please contact NursingCAS support via phone at 617-­612-­2880 Monday – Thursday 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. Eastern Time and Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern Time and via email at nursingcasinfo@nursingcas.org. Or post questions to NursingCAS by following their Twitter and/or Facebook accounts. Detailed instructions and FAQs are available too. Instructional videos are posted on the NursingCAS YouTube channel.